At the outbreak of war in August 1914 he enlisted for active service at the front and was given command of the 13th Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada), CEF. Promoted to the rank of colonel in January 1916, he was given command of a training brigade in England. In March 1916, Loomis was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general[2] and took command of the newly formed 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade. In July of that same year, he was appointed to command of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade and would see the brigade through the battles at the Ypres Salient, Somme, Vimy Ridge, Arlleux, Hill 70, and Passchendaele during 1916 and 1917.[1] In 1918 he was engaged in battles at Amiens and Arras.[3] In September 1918, Loomis was promoted to major general and was given command of the 3rd Canadian Division and commanded the division during the last two months of the First World War, leading the division through the Battle of Cambrai and succeeding battles culminating in the capture of Mons on November 11, 1918.[1][3][4]
He was knighted by George V in 1919 for his service during the war and retired from the Canada Militia later in May of that year.[1] He was also highly decorated during the war, earning the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in June 1915 and a bar to his DSO three years later, the citation for which reads:
For great gallantry and brilliant leadership during the operations south-east of Amiens, 8th/9th August, 1918, and east of Arras, 2nd September, 1918. He made reconnaissances under heavy fire, personally superintending the disposition of troops and encouraging all by his coolness and ability. The results achieved by the brigade were of an outstanding nature.[5]
Honours and legacy
On November 11, 2018, the hundredth anniversary of the Armistice with Germany, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, with bagpipes and drums playing, marched through the streets of Mons to the building that was Major-General Frederick Loomis’s headquarters during the First World War. There a ceremony was held for the unveiling of a plaque commemorating this building as the HQ of the 3rd CDN Division.[6]
He is portrayed in a painting by Edgar Bundy on display in the Canadian Senate Chamber, leading the Royal Highlanders of Canada (Canadian Expeditionary Force) into Saint-Nazaire in 1915.
Mount Loomis on the Alberta–British Columbia border is named after him.[7]
References
^ abcdeParker, Charles Whately; Greene, Barnet M. (1912). Who's Who in Canada. p. 149. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
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